POLICE in the Chinese capital Beijing have warned women not to wear miniskirts, hot pants or other skimpy clothing on buses and subways during the hot summer in order to avoid sexual harassment.

Women should also shield themselves with bags or newspapers, and sit or stand in lower areas rather than in raised seats to avoid being surreptitiously photographed, according to guidelines issued by the traffic department of the Beijing Public Security Bureau.

Women often complain of groping and other harassment in Beijing's crowded buses and subways.

Most buses in the capital do not have security cameras so it is difficult for authorities to collect evidence of harassment.

The heaviest penalty for sexual harassment is 15 days in detention.

Women have been guaranteed broad equal treatment under Chinese law since Mao Zedong, the founder of communist China, declared that women "hold up half the sky".

But despite that, women in China still face old-fashioned attitudes among many men and few women hold op jobs in government or business.